Irish hoops all Ty-ed up

Brey receives commitments from two prep seniors.

Brey receives commitments from two prep seniors.

October 25, 2006|TOM NOIE Tribune Staff Writer

No school maintained interest in him longer than Notre Dame, something that Tyrone Nash didn't forget. Other schools showed him more attention than Notre Dame, something that Ty Proffitt didn't mind. Each made their college choices public Tuesday morning, becoming a rare same-day commitment combination set to play for Notre Dame and coach Mike Brey beginning in 2007-08. A 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward from Queens, N.Y., Nash chose Notre Dame over Kentucky, Stanford, Seton Hall and Providence. A 6-4, 195-pound guard from London, Ky., Proffitt picked Notre Dame over Kentucky and Stanford. "There's nothing better than being able to play college basketball with 'Irish' across your chest," Nash said Tuesday morning by cell phone from a New England prep school. "They've been on me the longest." "I wanted to go to a program where I felt wanted, and I'm going to a place I feel wanted," Proffitt said by cell phone after stepping out of a marketing class at South Laurel (Ky.) High School. "A big burden has been lifted off my shoulders." Both are ranked as three-star college prospects by rivals.com and scout.com, but not among their top 150 talents. The two will join Carlton Scott, a 6-8 forward from San Antonio, in signing with Notre Dame during the early fall period, which commences two weeks from today. Scott verbally committed in mid-August. Under NCAA regulations, Brey cannot comment on any recruit until national signing day. Notre Dame has one scholarship still to offer. That grant would go toward a post player, but likely will carry over to the 2008-09 recruiting class. Nash and Proffitt each took round-about routes to South Bend. Nash toyed with the idea of signing with Kentucky last summer. He missed all but three games his freshman year with a knee injury and realized, at only 17 years of age, that he needed another year of seasoning. After four years at Lawrence Woodmere Academy, an independent college preparatory school on Long Island, Nash enrolled this fall at Northfield (Mass.) Mount Hermon School. "It helps me mature mentally and physically," he said. "I know I had to get stronger and wiser." Nash visited Notre Dame the weekend of Sept. 16, where students in the Notre Dame Stadium stands chanted his name during the Michigan game. He committed to Brey, who saw him play several times last season, late Monday. Wanting to share his college choice with someone, Nash dialed up Jeff Weiss, who coached him for four years at Lawrence. At home with young twin sons, Weiss checked his caller ID and saw that it was Nash. "I said, 'Tyrone, this better be important because it's after 10 p.m.'" Weiss said Tuesday morning. "He's pumped about going to Notre Dame. I can't wait to see him play." Weiss compared Nash to another Queens native and former New York-area schoolboy star -- Los Angles Lakers swingman Lamar Odom. Both are left-handed and can play multiple positions. Last season, as he averaged 17 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three blocks, Nash even played some point guard for Lawrence. Weiss predicts that Nash's college position will be small forward, where he'll be a matchup nightmare. "He's so versatile," Weiss said of the two-time All-Long Island selection. "He's an excellent defender, rebounds well and is just a really good basketball player." One who is willing to go wherever Brey needs him -- inside or out, against big men or guards, anything to see Notre Dame succeed. "I'll play everything," he said. "I just hope (senior) Colin Falls leaves me some jump shots down there for me." Like Nash, Proffitt may not be pegged as being strictly a point guard or a shooting guard. He's played all four perimeter positions for coach Steve Wright's team, which finished 28-6 last season. All-state honorable mention as a sophomore, where he helped South Laurel win the state championship, Proffitt averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 assists last season to earn third team all-state honors. He has played varsity basketball since the eighth grade. Slowed last summer during the AAU circuit by illness (virus) and injuries (groin, ankle), Proffitt still received plenty of attention from Division I schools. That included Kentucky, located 78 miles north of his hometown, and Stanford. Notre Dame had planned to see him play at an AAU Tournament in Los Angeles, but Proffitt skipped it to heal. Since then, more schools started calling about Proffitt. "I had a hunch about Notre Dame," Wright said Tuesday. "So I called the basketball office." That was some four weeks ago on a Friday. Less than 24 hours later, Wright greeted Notre Dame associate head coach Sean Kearney in London. Kearney returned for a second visit. Brey visited the third time before a scholarship offer was extended earlier this month. "They didn't mess around," Wright said. "The kid's a diamond in the rough." Proffitt toured campus last weekend. He attended the football pep rally and met former UCLA coach Steve Lavin, former Irish coach Digger Phelps and ESPN personality Dick Vitale. He and Wright also howled from their front-row seats as fellow Kentucky native Paul Hornung lost his pants. Proffitt was hosted by Irish sophomore Zach Hillesland and freshmen Luke Harangody and Joe Harden before committing to Brey on Sunday afternoon. "You don't have one person there who forgets where they came from," Proffitt said. "Everyone was someone I could see myself being with for four years, and I couldn't find that anywhere else."